


Drabble Collection: April 2020

by serendipitysnape



Category: The Great Library Series - Rachel Caine
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:08:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23580604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitysnape/pseuds/serendipitysnape
Summary: Day 10: Dario's Wardrobe (Khalila/Dario),humor/fluffDay 11: Ice Cold Drink (Jess & Thomas),PTSD/friendshipDay 12: A Hug (Jess & Dario),h/cDay 13: A Codex (Jess & Morgan),angst/lossDay 14: Ptolemy House (Santi/Wolfe),nightmaresDay 15: Nic's Tattoo (Santi/Wolfe),smut/fluffDay 16: The Archives (Khalila),angst/griefDay 17: Thomas' Fists (Jess),angst/nightmaresDay 18: Money (Glain & Santi),humorDay 19: Stars (Family),comfort/fluffDay 20: Morgan's Hands (Morgan & Wolfe),angst/painDay 21: The Hive (Dads & Sons),humor/h/cDay 22: A Quill Pen (Santi/Wolfe),smut/innuendoDay 23: Medicine (Glain & Jess),h/cDay 24: Jess' Tie (Jess & Santi/Wolfe),angst/h/cDay 25: Sleep (Wolfe/Family),fluffDay 26: Automata (Thomas/Family),humorDay 27: Language (Dario/Family),fluffDay 28: Glain's Weapon (Glain/Family),fluffDay 29: A Scholar's Robe (Santi/Wolfe),h/cDay 30: A Game (Family),fluff
Relationships: Dario Santiago/Khalila Seif, Niccolo Santi/Christopher Wolfe
Comments: 69
Kudos: 9
Collections: Dribble Drabble April (A Great Library Event)





	1. Day 10: Dario's Wardrobe

When the package arrived at the door of their shared quarters, wrapped simply in brown paper with minimal scuffs, and straight, crisp lines, Khalila couldn’t wait to see what was inside.

Beneath the tissue paper lay a rich brocade cloak, black with a satin inner lining and ornate gold trim. _Stunning._

What Khalila couldn’t figure out, was why Dario had looked so pained when she had thanked him for the gift. Of course Dario had smiled and paid her all the right complements, but she couldn’t help but wonder if the cloak had actually been meant for _her_ after all.


	2. Day 11: Ice Cold Drink

Jess was decidedly drunk when he finally mustered enough courage to ask Thomas about Rome.

Honestly, he had known even before he opened his mouth that neither of them would be able to consume enough alcohol to make the conversation bearable.

Jess asked him anyway.

_________________________________________________

Thomas pretended he was as drunk as Jess, but they both knew there wasn’t enough vodka in the world to dull the pain that was Rome.

Jess filled two glasses with ice and passed one over, “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“No.” The vodka burned going down.

Thomas told him anyway.


	3. Day 12: A Hug

“Getoffmescrubber!”

Jess clutched him a bit tighter.

“ImeanitJesslemmego!”

Jess didn’t grace him with a response, he just hung on.

“My love?” And then Khalila was there, cool fingers raising Dario’s head until a furious pair of red-rimmed eyes met her own. “It’s okay, I’m here now.” She tapped Jess on the shoulder and he let go, Dario slumping to the floor at Khalila’s feet.

Before the door shut, Jess watched Dario bury his face in Khalila’s dress, shoulders shaking, her fingers tangled in his hair. The sight would stay with Jess for hours after, his own heart crying alongside them.


	4. Day 13: A Codex

_I miss you._

Jess scribbled the words into his codex and stared down at them stubbornly. Logically, he knew that this time no response was coming to ease the ache in his heart, but somehow he couldn’t look away.

If tears were words, Jess would have covered the entire page with run-on sentences, but the only message he wrote was for the one person who could never write him back.

Moments after midnight Jess finally slipped into sleep, the codex still clutched in his hands.

Her reply appeared slowly, lingering but a moment before disappearing forever.

_I miss you too._


	5. Day 14: Ptolemy House

“Chris. Christopher!”

Wolfe shuddered as Santi shook him awake.

“No need to shout Niccolo, I’m right here.” Chris tried for a joking tone, but it fell flat as soon as he saw the pain on Nic’s face. They never joked about the nightmares.

“I’m right here,” Wolfe said in a much softer tone, “I’m not going anywhere my love.”

Nic grunted, pulling Chris tight against his chest.

It was a while before he muttered. “Ptolemy House tonight, damn those assholes!”

Wolfe tried to keep his voice steady as he replied, “At least, the children…”

Nic just squeezed him tighter. “Yes.”


	6. Day 15: Nic's Tattoo

Santi shivered at the feeling of Wolfe’s hands caressing his bare skin.

“Did this one hurt, my love?”

Christopher’s fingers were soft as they mapped Nic’s scars, one tattoo after another. Too soft.

“How about this one?”

Wolfe grazed his teeth against a particularly nasty knife wound and Santi whimpered at the expectation of pain. It was too early to beg.

Warm hands flipped him over and a firm, wet tongue ran over Nic’s chest until it stopped to tease his nipple playfully.

Then Chris chuckled and bit down. 

“And this one?” 

Intoxicating pain exploded in a single word.

“Yes.”


	7. Day 16: The Archives

_In this place…_

Some days, the band of gold around her neck feels more like a noose than the honor of a lifetime.

_In this place we burn the lamp of knowledge…_

Khalila’s hand trembles and cramps as she signs letter after letter. Sorry for your loss. Thank you for your sacrifice.

_In this place we burn the lamp of knowledge that never goes out…_

But when she stops to weigh the cost of that flame, all Khalila can see is Morgan’s face.

_In this place we burn the lamp of knowledge that never goes out. We light the world._


	8. Day 17: Thomas' Fists

Sometimes Jess has nightmares.

Not about the ink-licker’s laugh, or the reek of greek fire.  
And not about Brendan’s weight in his arms, or his brother’s blood soaking him to the skin.  
It’s true that on some nights Jess wakes up with fog in his lungs and a pressure on his chest that stops him from taking a breath.  
But tonight was not the memory of Morgan engulfed in flames.  
No, tonight was the crazed look in his best friend’s eyes when he wrapped two large hands around Jess’s neck and squeezed.

Tonight’s nightmare was the memory of Thomas’ fists.


	9. Day 18: Money

“One more round?” Glain’s laughter filled the air of the small pub as she stared at the coins she and Santi had relieved from the other members of the Blue Dogs.

In hindsight, she supposed that maybe she should not have baited the men so directly, and she certainly could have refrained from insulting the mothers of those who refused to make an attempt at arm wrestling them. Glain shrugged. Ah well, not her fault they were outmatched on nearly every level.

“Another?” Their winnings gleamed back in the dim light, and Commander Santi grinned wickedly.

“Of course,” she replied.


	10. Day 19: Stars

“Why are we here, Scrubber?”  
“Stop your whining Dario, you know why.” Jess rolled his eyes.  
“Are you cold, little Princeling?” Glain grinned and flicked a piece of shingle at him.  
“Let him be, Glain.” Khalila arranged her skirts more delicately on the roof top.  
“Quiet,” Thomas snapped, “you’ll miss it.”  
“There! Look there!” Wolfe pointed to the stars and the seven of them watched as meteors raced across the sky.  
“She should have been here with us.” Jess flinched at the comforting arm that Santi draped around his shoulders.  
“Oh Jess,” Nic said softly, “look around you, she is.”


	11. Day 20: Morgan's Hands

They trembled almost all the time now.  
Morgan barely noticed anymore, but it took all the effort she had to still her twitching fingers when the others were near.  
They wouldn’t understand.  
The power she dragged on emptied her until her skin felt too-tight and her insides hollow.  
Wolfe knew. He watched her with worried eyes when he thought she couldn’t see him.  
But she did see him.  
She wanted to tell him not to worry, she had everything under control.  
But they both knew that was a lie.  
So instead she said nothing.  
And her hands continued to tremble.


	12. Day 21: The Hive

Wolfe entered the room with quick steps and his eyes narrowed. It was unclear which of his incredibly dimwitted charges were in a more depressing state.

Dario, who sat whimpering with a cool poultice over both of his swollen eyes;  
Thomas, with fingers so fat it appeared he could not clench his hand; or  
Jess, whose arms were so raised with welts they would not bend.

Wolfe sighed. He would let Nic have this one. Santi’s raised voice filled the hallway as Wolfe slipped out the door.

“What did you numskulls think would happen, using a beehive as a piñata?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started with a bar scene at "The Hive," and somehow ended with a story about bees... Sorry bout that! XD


	13. Day 22: A Quill Pen

Nic knew it was wrong.  
He knew it.  
But there was something about Chris sucking on the tip of his quill pen that made him lose control, every single time.  
All he could think of was the way other things might feel in Christopher’s grasp. Between his lips. Against his tongue.

___________

Chris knew it was wrong.  
He knew it.  
But there was something about how Nic watched him with his quill that made Chris want to loose his tightly wound self control.  
So he continued. He spun the quill in his mouth and sucked, imagining it was Nic instead.


	14. Day 23: Medicine

Santi sent a codex message ahead to expect him. What he didn’t expect to find was Wathen pacing outside Brightwell’s room.  
____________________

Glain waited until the medica trainee left before entering. She smoothed her hands over her uniform, straightened her spine, and froze.  
Jess looked like death; a shadow of the stubborn, unbreakable boy she had come to think of as family. Her hand twitched, but poison wasn’t something Glain could defeat in hand-to-hand combat. All she could do was sit beside his bed, and pray.  
_____________________

Nic smiled, watching as Glain took Jess’ hand. He would come back later.


	15. Day 24: Jess' Tie

Suddenly,  
Jess was choking.  
He couldn’t breathe.  
The room flashed white and then gray.  
It turned.   
The world was upside down.  
That was not supposed to happen.  
“Deep breaths.” He knew that voice.   
The pressure around his neck eased.  
Jess gasped.  
“Good boy. In, out. Nice and slow.” He obeyed that voice.  
A broad, scarred hand settled on his back, a comforting weight.  
“Keep breathing, Brightwell.”  
Jess opened his eyes.  
Wolfe was kneeling between his knees, Jess’ tie clutched in his fist.   
Santi grabbed the offending strip of fabric and ripped it in half.  
“You won’t be needing this again.”


	16. Day 25: Sleep

An unfamiliar feeling settled into his chest, and it took Scholar Christopher Wolfe a moment to realize that somehow, the warmth spreading throughout his body was in fact contentment. He looked at the couch, where Nic had fallen asleep with Khalila’s feet in his lap, and then to the kitchen table, where Thomas and Glain had finally bickered themselves into exhaustion. Jess and Dario were passed out on the living room floor after a rather vulgar drinking game, but as Wolfe covered them with a blanket he could not help but marvel at the unexpected direction his life had taken.


	17. Day 26: Automata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble is head-cannon from my "In the Stillness of Memory" series. It is the prelude for the outrageous excitement in Glain's one-shot, _Like the Chaos After the Storm_ :D

The look on Thomas’ face was giddy, and Jess watched as he danced with excitement.  
_Knock, knock._  
“We’ve arrived,” Dario announced imperiously as he and Khalila breezed in.  
“Excellent!” Thomas smiled, bouncing into his workroom with unrestrained glee. “Glain is on patrol so I’ll show her later tonight, come and see!”  
Jess couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Thomas so happy about something, not since Rome. His friend removed the cloth to reveal a life-sized metal bull.  
“What does it do?” Khalila stroked the automata’s cool hide.  
“Do?” Dario grinned at Thomas in delight, “ _Querida,_ you ride it!”


	18. Day 27: Language

“Why can’t I just ask her in Spanish?”   
“Trust me, she’ll appreciate this.” Thomas smiled at him encouragingly.  
 _“Hal satatazawajuni?”_  
Jess tried (and failed) to look supportive at Dario’s attempt.  
“That doesn’t sound right.” Glain scowled from across the room.  
“Let me see,” Jess offered.  
“What do you know, Scrubber?”   
“Maybe you should ask Wolfe, he’s good with languages.”  
“No Thomas, I’m not asking him how I should propose to Khalila!”

“Give me the paper, Scholar Santiago.” Of course Wolfe chose that moment to enter the room. He scanned the words, leaned down, whispered quietly in Dario’s ear, and smiled.


	19. Day 28: Glain's Weapon

They hadn’t made a fuss about her promotion.  
Khalila had quietly taken her to lunch in congratulations.  
Jess had somehow managed to produce a rare copy of Asclepiodotus’ treatise on military tactics.  
Dario had gifted her a horridly expensive scrap of rather useless looking material that resembled a cape.  
Thomas had built a hawk automata, “for hunting” he had said with a grin. But it reminded Glain too much of Morgan’s songbird.  
The final gift appeared anonymously before day’s end, a stunning obsidian dagger, intricately carved and razor-sharp. Simple, elegant, deadly.  
No, Glain’s family hadn’t made a fuss at all.


	20. Day 29: A Scholar's Robe

Santi pretended that he didn’t see him flinch as Wolfe put on his ceremonial robes.  
“It’s for Khalila.” Nic said softly, reaching out to him.   
“I know.” Wolfe said curtly, immediately feeling sorry for speaking to Nic in that tone of voice.  
Nic just stared back at him, eyes soft in understanding.  
Chris pulled the fabric over his head and fought to keep the panic at bay.  
And then Nic was there, pulling his arms through the holes and smoothing the robe across his shoulders.  
“It’s okay,” he murmured, caressing Wolfe’s face and leaning their foreheads together. “It’s okay now.”


	21. Day 30: A Game

For **Glain,** serving the High Garda was not a game, it was a calling.  
For **Thomas,** inventing was not a game, it was life.  
For **Dario,** serving Khalila was not a game, it was purpose.  
For **Khalila,** wearing the Archivist’s crown was not a game, it was honor.  
For **Jess,** printing new books was not a game, it was penance.  
For **Morgan,** freedom was not a game, it was a gift.  
For **Niccolò Santi,** loving Christopher Wolfe was not a game, it was absolutely everything.  
For **Scholar Wolfe,** the Great Library was all of those things; past, present, and future.


End file.
